CHULA VISTA, Calif. -- A woman who gunned down her ex-boyfriend at his Imperial Beach apartment after stalking and harassing him for a year was sentenced Friday to 50 years to life in prison.
Vegas Bray, 27, was convicted in November of first-degree murder in the death of Victor Saucedo on Oct. 16, 2012.
Bray and the 31-year-old victim met while both were in the Navy. Their relationship lasted for several months and ended toward the latter part of 2011.
Prosecutors said the couple broke up because Bray was jealous of the mother of Saucedo's child, but the defendant continued to pursue the victim.
Bray committed seven acts of vandalism against Saucedo's car and apartment, including popping his car tires, smearing peanut butter on his door and even tracking him down after he changed apartments, said Deputy District Attorney Harrison Kennedy.
The couple talked about rekindling their romance the day before the murder, but Saucedo said he wasn't interested in the long-term relationship that Bray wanted, according to Kennedy.
Bray felt "spurned" and left the victim's apartment the next morning, then returned in the afternoon with a gun and shot him nine times, police said. Bray called 911 after the shooting, saying Saucedo had committed suicide.
"My brother was a good person," Saucedo's brother, Antonio, said during the sentencing hearing.
Turning toward Bray, Antonio Saucedo said, "He knew what you were capable of."
After court, Stephanie Stratton, the grandmother of Saucedo's son, was asked about a letter of remorse from Bray. She told reporters, "You can't say, 'I shot your son six times and I reloaded the gun and shot him three more times.' That's supposed to fix something? Not in this time."
